Category: News

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“Building the HpH Fw 189” is Now Available!

I’m pleased to announced that Jan Gabauer’s Building the HpH Fw 189 ‘Uhu’ in 1/32 Scale is now available!

This 66-page eBook sees Jan tackle the impressive mixed-media 1/32 scale Fw 189 kit from HpH Models. The majority of the kit parts are cast in polyurethane resin, augmented with turned metal and photo-etched parts, paint masks, and HGW ‘wet transfers’. A set of HGW ‘fabric’ seat belts is also included, making for a complex kit and a potentially challenging build.

Jan navigates the complexities of the build with aplomb, offering tips for working with resin assemblies, and overcoming the particular challenges of this kit. The process is very instructive, and results are quite spectacular!

The book is available as a downloadable PDF for just 8 Australian dollars (AUD$8). Click on the link or image above to visit the product page and purchase the book.

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Announcing our next Build Guide featuring the HpH 1/32 Fw 189!

I’m pleased to announce that the next title in our Build Guide Series will feature the 1/32 scale Fw 189 kit from HpH Models. Entitled Building the HpH Fw 189 ‘Uhu’ in 1/32 Scale, and written by Jan Gabauer, this eBook will take you through the build process for this complex multi-media kit.

Jan’s build is exceptional, and shows just what can be achieved with the right approach.

Please stay tuned for more news on this release in the coming weeks!

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v1.4 of Building Race #80 is Now Available!

As we know, nothing in this world is perfect—least of all the process of publishing a book! Feedback from readers and contributors has led to some further refinements of the new Spitfire book, and this has resulted in v1.4 now being available. New purchasers will receive this latest version by default, but existing owners can also update their copy by re-downloading the book (please see the article Purchasing and Downloading Our Books for more information).

Hopefully there won’t be a v1.5!

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Version 1.1 of Peter Castle’s Spitfire Book is Now Available!

As Murphy’s Law would have it, now that Peter Castle’s new Spitfire book is out, one particularly diligent reader has identified a number of typos in the original release (well, three to be exact). These were very minor, but I felt it was important to correct them—this being one of the benefits of digital publishing!

I’ve now uploaded a new version of the file, which is what new purchasers will receive from now on. If you’ve already purchased the book, you can simply re-download the newer version using the link in your original download email. If you no longer have that email, please see our article Purchasing & Downloading Our Books for more information on how to obtain the file.

I’d like to thank Paul Monforton for bringing these errors to my attention.

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Building Race #80 in 1/18 Scale is Now Available!

I’m pleased to announce that Peter Castle’s Building Race #80 Spitfire Mk XIVe in 1/18 Scale is now available!

This 565-page eBook features Peter‘s award-winning conversion of the HpH Models 1/18 Seafire 47 to represent a Spitfire XIVe—specifically, Race #80, as flown by James McArthur in the Tinnerman Air Races at Cleveland, Ohio, on September 4th 1949.

Peter rebuilt much of the airframe, scratch-built most of the detail parts in aluminium and brass, and covered the model in aluminium litho-plate for an authentic natural metal finish. Peter’s model won the National Senior Champion award (among many others) at Scale Model World in Telford in November 2017, and its construction is presented here in forensic detail.

Not only does the book contain a blow-by-blow account of every stage of the build, including how Peter fashioned many of the intricate details, but also:

  • an illustrated account of the history of TZ138 by noted aviation illustrator and author Juanita Franzi;
  • a 12-page tutorial on Turning Small Parts with a Rotary Tool;
  • a 33-page tutorial on Designing Your Own Photo Etch Parts;
  • a 16-page tutorial on Skinning Models in Metal;
  • a 15-page tutorial on Forming Metal Around Compound Curves;
  • bonus: seven full-page walkaround photos of a Spitfire Mk 19 seat.

This book is a must-have for aspiring scratch-builders, Spitfire fans, and any modeller interested in learning from the best.

The book is $22 Australian dollars as a downloadable PDF from our store. Please check out the sample pages below:

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Peter Castle’s Spitfire Book Reaches 400 Pages!

Barely a week after posting that our next book, Peter Castle’s Building Race #80 Spitfire Mk XIVe in 1/18 Scale, had clocked up a massive 300 pages, I now have to report that it has just blasted through 400 pages! The sheer scale and scope of Peter’s magnificent build has necessitated the book growing to an unanticipated size, but this just makes it all the more compelling!

This will mean that this title will be slightly more expensive than our previous three releases, but much better value on a page-per-dollar basis. I’d like to say that we’ll be ready to publish in a couple of weeks, but with so much amazing content to sort through and fashion into pages, I’m not prepared to guarantee it!

More news when I can bring it.

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Peter Castle’s Spitfire Book Reaches 300 Pages!

After a longer-than-expected forced hiatus, work resumed recently on preparing our newest title, Peter Castle’s Building Race #80 Spitfire Mk XIVe in 1/18 Scale.

The book, much like the model itself, is fast becoming an absolute monster, and has now breached the 300-page mark! It will not only cover the building of Peter’s model in exquisite detail, but will also feature several technique tutorials from Peter himself, a handy set of walkaround photos of a Spitfire seat by Tony Taylor, and an article and artwork on #80 from Juanita Franzi.

Work continues at a feverish pace, and it’s about 70% done. I’m hoping we’re now only a matter of weeks away from publication.

Stay tuned for more news!

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New Section – Partners!

I’ve just added a new section to the website called “Partners”. This will feature information and links about the people and organisations who help make our books possible.

Partners

The first two partners to be featured are Mark Jessop of Aviation Spotters Online, and Rob Fox of Rob Fox Photography. The walkaround photos provided by these fine gents are featured in Building Brick’s Sabre in 1/32 Scale and Building Mac’s Birddog in 1/32 Scale respectively.

There’s a new link in the main navigation menu for this section, which will grow over time to include many more worthy contributors!

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The “My Account” Link has Moved!

Just a quick note to point out that the “My Account” link has been moved from the main navigation menu, to the upper right area of the screen, just to the left of the search field. This has been done to allow for future expansion of the main menu, and hopefully won’t cause too much confusion!

Please contact me if this change has caused any issues for you.

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Another Honour for Brick!

Over the weekend of November 11 & 12, The Australian Capital Territory Scale Modelers’ Society (ACTSMS) held the ScaleACT model show and competition. By all accounts, it was a great show, but one particular incident had special significance for KLP Publishing.

The subject of our first title (Building Brick’s Sabre in 1/32 Scale), Kevin Bricknell, was again awarded the honour of a tribute build of an aircraft he flew during his career. This time, it was his PC-9, and the modeller was Andrew Doppel.

Congratulations to Brick for another well-deserved tribute, and also to Andrew Doppel for creating such a fine model. Thanks also to Andrew for permission to use his photos.